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CBOT rice sags quietly lower on light hedging

CHICAGO: Rough rice futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed slightly lower on Wednesday on small lot commercial selling tied to hedge sales, traders said.

Rice closed 1 to 1-1/2 cents per cwt lower, with March down 1 at $5.68 per cwt.

"There was a little commercial selling that took it down," a trader said.

Traders continued to cite the large stockpile of rice in the United States and elsewhere as a key reason for caps on attempts to rally rice futures prices.

ADM Investor Services sold 20 Mach, Farmers Commodities Corp. sold 90 March and locals were on both sides of the market, traders said.

E.D. & F. Man International spread 50 March/May and 50 March/July, ADM spread 175 May/March and Lind Waldock spread 40 May/July, traders said.

Rice futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 1,050 lots, above the 391 lots traded Tuesday.-Reuters